Method and apparatus for displaying images

ABSTRACT

A high definition display having a display line pitch smaller than a cell arrangement pitch in the column direction is provided. A display device to be used has a display surface including plural cell columns, each of which is a set of cells having the same light emission color. The display device has a cell arrangement structure in which cell positions in the column direction are shifted from each other between the neighboring cell columns. An interlaced display is performed by changing the combination of cells of a display line that is perpendicular to the column direction in every field between the neighboring cell columns of the same light emission color.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus fordisplaying an image, which are suitable especially for a display using aplasma display panel (PDP).

[0003] As a television display device having a large screen, an AC typePDP of a surface discharge format is commercialized. The surfacedischarge format has first and second display electrodes each of whichserves as an anode or a cathode in a display discharge for ensuring aluminance arranged in parallel on a front or a back substrate.

[0004] As an electrode matrix structure of the surface discharge typePDP, a “three-electrode structure” is widely known, in which an addresselectrode is arranged so as to cross the display electrode pair. For thedisplay, one of the display electrodes (the second display electrode) isused as a scanning electrode for selecting a display line, and anaddress discharge is generated between the scanning electrode and theaddress electrode so as to control the wall charge in accordance withthe content of the display for addressing. After the addressing, asustaining voltage having an alternating polarity is applied to thedisplay electrodes, so that a surface discharge is generated only in thecell having a predetermined wall charge along the substrate surface.

[0005] In a surface discharge type PDP, a partition (a barrier rib) fordividing a discharge space into columns is necessary. Concerning apartition structure, a stripe structure in which a partition having abanding shape in the plan view is arranged (including a structure inwhich a stripe pattern layer and a mesh pattern layer are overlaid) hasan advantage over a mesh (waffle) structure in which each cell isseparated from others. In the stripe structure, the discharge space ofeach column is continuous over the entire length of the screen, so thata discharge probability is increased by a priming effect, and that afluorescent material layer can be arranged uniformly and easily, andthat an air exhaustion process can be shortened.

[0006] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0007] A three-electrode surface discharge type PDP that is disclosed inJapanese unexamined patent publication No. 9-160525 is used for aninterlaced display. In this PDP, display electrodes are arranged at aconstant pitch so as to be connected with all columns that are definedby linear banding partitions, and the number of the display electrodesequals to the number N of the display line in the screen plus one. Amongthe (N+1) display electrodes, two neighboring display electrodesconstitute an electrode pair for generating a surface discharge anddefine one display line (row) of the screen. Each of the displayelectrodes except for both ends of the arrangement works for two displaylines (an odd display line and an even display line), while each of theend display electrodes works for one display line. Thus, the PDP,wherein all display electrode gaps are made discharge gaps and onedisplay electrode is shared by two display lines for discharge, has anadvantage in that the resolution (the number of display lines) issubstantially doubled, and that there is no non-light emission areabetween the display lines so that each cell a large aperture ratio,compared with a PDP in which a pair of display electrodes is arrangedfor each display line.

[0008] In Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 9-50768, athree-electrode surface discharge type PDP having a modified stripepartition structure is proposed in which a meandering band-likepartition is used for dividing the discharge space, so as to preventdischarge interference (cross talk) in the column direction. Eachpartition meanders so as to form a column space having alternatingwidened portions and narrowed portions in cooperation with theneighboring partition. The position of the widened portion in which acell is formed is shifted from that of the neighboring column, so thatthe arrangement of three colors for a color display becomes DeltaTricolor Arrangement. In the conventional image display using this PDP,each display line is made of cells including a fixed cell selected foreach column.

[0009] In the conventional image display using the delta arrangementPDP, the display line pitch equals to the cell arrangement pitch in thecolumn direction, so there is a problem in that it is necessary toreduce the cell size in order to improve the resolution in the columndirection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] An object of the present invention is to provide a highdefinition display having a display line pitch smaller than a cellarrangement pitch in the column direction in the display surface inwhich cells of a display line are arranged zigzag.

[0011] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method ofdisplaying an image is provided. The method comprises the steps of usinga display device having a display surface including plural cell columnseach of which is a set of cells having the same light emission color,the display device having a cell arrangement structure in which cellpositions in the column direction are shifted from each other betweenthe neighboring cell columns, and performing an interlaced display bychanging the combination of cells of a display line that isperpendicular to the column direction in every field between theneighboring cell columns of the same light emission color.

[0012] According to a second aspect of the present invention, the methodfurther comprises the step of determining luminance of each cell of thedisplay surface by distributing a luminance value of each pixel of aninput image to be displayed to cells corresponding to pixels inaccordance with the cell position relationship between a virtual displaysurface having a cell arrangement corresponding to a pixel arrangementof the input image and the display surface.

[0013] According to a third aspect of the present invention, a displayapparatus is provided. The apparatus comprises a display device having adisplay surface including plural cell columns each of which is a set ofcells having the same light emission color, the display device having acell arrangement structure in which cell positions in the columndirection are shifted from each other between the neighboring cellcolumns, and a driving circuit for performing an interlaced display bychanging the combination of cells of a display line that isperpendicular to the column direction in every field between theneighboring cell columns of the same light emission color in everyfield.

[0014] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, thedisplay apparatus has the structure in which the cells are arranged at aconstant pitch in each cell column and the shift quantity of the cellposition in the column direction between the neighboring cell columns ofthe same light emission color is a half of the cell arrangement pitch.

[0015] According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the displayapparatus has the structure in which luminance of each cell of thedisplay surface is determined by distributing a luminance value of eachpixel of an input image to be displayed to cells corresponding to pixelsin accordance with the cell position relationship between a virtualdisplay surface having a cell arrangement corresponding to a pixelarrangement of the input image and the display surface.

[0016] According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the displayapparatus has the structure in which the all cells within the displaysurface have the same light emission color.

[0017] According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, thedisplay apparatus has the structure in which the display surfaceincludes three kinds of cell columns having different light emissioncolors, and the color arrangement has a pattern in which three colorsare repeated in a constant order.

[0018] According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, thedisplay apparatus has the structure in which an interlaced image to bedisplayed is inputted, and the direction of the display line is thedirection of a scanning line of the interlaced image.

[0019] According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the displayapparatus has the structure in which a non-interlaced image to bedisplayed is inputted, and the non-interlaced image is converted into aninterlaced image to be displayed.

[0020] According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the displayapparatus has the structure in which gradation data of each pixel of theinterlaced image are generated from the non-interlaced image data.

[0021] According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, thedisplay apparatus includes a plasma display panel as the display device.

[0022] According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, thedisplay device is a plasma display panel having an inner structureincluding a partition for dividing a discharge space for each cellcolumn, the discharge space is continuous over the entire length of thedisplay surface in each cell column, and wide portions and narrowportions are arranged alternately so that the narrow portion is locatedat the boundary position between cells.

[0023] According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, thedisplay device has a plurality of scanning electrodes arranged tostraddle over all cell columns for selecting one cell in each cellcolumn of each field.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a display apparatus according to thepresent invention.

[0025]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a cell structure of a PDP according tothe present invention.

[0026]FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a cell arrangement structure.

[0027]FIGS. 4A and 4B show a layout in which the relationship betweenpositions of cells having the same light emission color of one displayline is indicated.

[0028]FIG. 5 shows a set of display lines according to the presentinvention.

[0029]FIG. 6 shows how to number the cell whose light emission color isred or blue.

[0030]FIG. 7 shows how to number the cell whose light emission color isgreen.

[0031]FIGS. 8A and 8B show relationships of positions between the inputimage signal and the cell.

[0032]FIG. 9 shows an example of changing the relationship of positionsbetween the input image signal and the cell.

[0033]FIG. 10 shows a unit display area (a cell) and the display centerthereof.

[0034]FIG. 11 shows a unit information area (a pixel) and the centerthereof.

[0035]FIGS. 12A and 12B show the relationships between the unitinformation area and the unit display area.

[0036]FIG. 13 shows an approximate unit display area and the displaycenter thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0037] Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained more indetail with reference to embodiments and drawings.

Structure of the Display Apparatus

[0038]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a display apparatus according to thepresent invention. The display apparatus 100 comprises a three-electrodesurface discharge type PDP 1 and a drive unit 70 for selectivelyactivating a cell arranged in a matrix to emit light. The displayapparatus 100 is used as a wall-hung TV set or a monitor display of acomputer system.

[0039] The PDP 1 has a display electrode X and a display electrode Yextending in the display line direction (i.e., in the horizontaldirection). The display electrode Y is used as a scanning electrode foraddressing. The address electrode A extends in the column direction (inthe vertical direction).

[0040] The drive unit 70 includes a control circuit 71 for a drivecontrol, a power source circuit 73, an X driver 74, a Y driver 77, andan address driver 80. The drive unit 70 is supplied with frame data Dfthat are multivalued image data indicating luminance levels of red,green and blue colors along with various synchronizing signals fromexternal equipment such as a TV tuner or a computer. The control circuit71 includes a frame memory 711 for memorizing the frame data Dftemporarily and a waveform memory 712 for memorizing control data ofdrive voltages. As known widely, a display using a PDP reproducesgradation by controlling lighting in a binary manner. Therefore, each ofsequential frames of an input image or a field of the frame (when theinput image is an interlace format) is divided into plural subfield. Asubfield period that is assigned to each subfield includes a preparationperiod for equalize a charge distribution of the display surface, anaddress period for forming a charge distribution corresponding to adisplay content, and a sustaining period for generating a displaydischarge for ensuring a luminance level corresponding to a gradationlevel. In the preparation period, a ramp pulse is applied to adjust awall voltage to a desired value, for example. In the address period, ascan pulse is applied to the display electrode Y for selecting a displayline, and, in synchronization with that, the potential of the addresselectrode A is controlled in binary manner for addressing. In thesustaining period, a sustaining pulse is applied to the displayelectrode Y and the display electrode X alternately. A peak value of thesustaining pulse is lower than a discharge start voltage between thedisplay electrodes, so the surface discharge does not occur without thewall voltage being added. Only the lighted cell in which the wall chargewas formed during the address period can generate a surface discharge asthe display discharge at every application of the sustaining pulse.

[0041] The frame data Df are stored in the frame memory 711 temporarilyand then are converted into subfield data Dsf for the gradation display,which are transferred to the address driver 80. The subfield data Dsfare display data made of q bits corresponding to q subfields (a set ofdisplay data for q screens in which one bit indicates one subpixel), andthe subfield is a binary image. The value of each bit of the subfielddata Dsf indicates whether the subpixel of the corresponding subfield isto be lighted or not, more accurately, whether it requires the addressdischarge or not.

[0042] The X driver 74 controls the potential of all display electrodesX as a whole. The Y driver 77 includes a scan circuit 78 for addressingand a common driver 79 for sustaining. The scan circuit 78 is means forapplying a scan pulse to select a display line. The address driver 80controls potentials of M address electrodes A in accordance with thesubfield data Dsf. These drivers are supplied with a predetermined powervia wiring conductors (not shown) from the power source circuit 73.

Structure of the Display Surface

[0043]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a cell structure of a PDP according tothe present invention. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a cell arrangementstructure. In FIG. 2, the inner structure is shown by drawing a pair ofsubstrate structures in a separated state. In FIG. 3, the displayelectrode Y, whose potential can be controlled individually, is denotedby the reference character “Y” with a suffix indicating an arrangementorder.

[0044] The PDP 1 includes a pair of substrate structures (each substratestructure has a substrate on which elements of discharge cells arearranged) 10 and 20. The display electrodes X and Y are arranged on theinner surface of the front glass substrate 11. Each of the displayelectrodes X and Y includes a transparent conductive film 41 for forminga surface discharge gap and a metal film (a bus electrode) 42 extendingin the horizontal direction over the entire length of the displaysurface ES. The display electrodes X and Y are coated with a dielectriclayer 17, which is coated with magnesia (MgO) as a protection film 18.The address electrode A is arranged on the inner surface of the backglass substrate 21 and covered with a dielectric layer 24. On thedielectric layer 24, meandering band-like partitions 29 each having aheight of approximately 150 μm are arranged for dividing the dischargespace into columns. A column space 31 of the discharge spacecorresponding to each column is continuous over all display lines. Theback inner surface and the side face of the partition 29 are coveredwith fluorescent material layers 28R, 28G and 28B of red, green and bluecolors for a color display. Italic letters R, G and B in the figuredenote light emission colors of fluorescent materials (ditto for thefollowing figures). The color arrangement of red, blue and green patternis repeated. The fluorescent material layers 28R, 28G and 28B areexcited locally by ultraviolet rays generated by the discharge gas andemit light.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 3, the neighboring partitions form a columnspace 31 including wide portions and narrow portions that arealternating. The position of the wide portion in the column direction isshifted from that of the neighboring column by one-half of a cell pitchin the column direction. A cell as a display element is formed in eachwide portion. Cells 51, 52 and 53 of one line are indicated bychain-lined circle as representatives in the figure. The display line isa set of cells that are lighted for displaying a line having the minimumwidth in the horizontal direction. The cells 51, 52 and 53 of threecolumns are used for reproduce a color of a pixel of an input image.

Method of Displaying an Image EXAMPLE 1

[0046]FIGS. 4A and 4B show a layout in which the relationship betweenpositions of cells having the same light emission color of one displayline is indicated. FIG. 5 shows a set of display lines according to thepresent invention.

[0047] Referring to the display surface cell arrangement, it isunderstood that a resolution in the column direction can be improved byutilizing the characteristic that the cell position in the columndirection is shifted from that of the neighboring column. It is becausedisplay lines that are shifted from each other by half a pitch bychanging the combination of cells. As shown in FIG. 5, the position ofthe display line 1 including the cell A and the cell B is shifted fromthe position of the display line 2 including the cell A and the cell Cby half a pitch.

[0048] Therefore, when the structure of the display line 1 is adoptedfor even fields, and when the structure of the display line 2 is adoptedfor odd fields, the display line is shifted by half a pitch for everyfield, so that an interlaced display of image information having adisplay line number that is twice the scanning electrode number.

[0049] Hereinafter, a concrete example of the relationship betweeninformation of the interlaced image and cells will be explained.

[0050] It is supposed that a gradation level of a cell of a certaincolor is C_(n,m). The suffix n denotes the position in the verticaldirection, and the suffix m denotes the position in the horizontaldirection, as defined in FIGS. 6 and 7. It should be noted that thenumbering of the position depends on the color. The position in thevertical direction of the odd cell in the horizontal direction isshifted from that of the even cell by half a cell pitch in the verticaldirection (a pitch of the scanning electrode in this example). Theinterlaced image signal corresponding to the cell of the noted color isdenoted by T_(n,m). The signal of an even field is denoted by T_(2n,m)while the signal of an odd field is denoted by T_(2n+1,m).

[0051] The cells having vertical positions of 2n and 2n+1 are assignedto the same display line (horizontal line) for an even field, while thecells having vertical positions of 2n and 2n−1 are assigned to the samedisplay line for an odd field. The relationship between the gradationlevel and the signal for the red or blue light emission color is definedby the following equations. (Image 1) C_(2n,2m) = T_(2n,2m) (for an{close oversize brace} C_(2n+1,2m+1) = T_(2n,2m+1) even field) (1)C_(2n−1,2m+1) = T_(2n−1,2m+1) (for an {close oversize brace} C_(2n,2m) =T_(2n−1,2m) odd field) (2)

[0052] The relationship between the gradation level and the signal forthe green light emission color is defined by the following equations.(Image 2) C_(2n,2m+1) = T_(2n,2m+1) (for an {close oversize brace}C_(2n+1,2m) = T_(2n,2m) even field) (3) C_(2n−1,2m+1) = T_(2n−1,2m) (foran {close oversize brace} C_(2n,2m+1) = T_(2n−1,m+1) odd field) (4)

[0053] Supposing that the vertical positions of the cells that can beaddressed by the n-th scanning electrode are 2n and 2n+1, one line ofthe image signal corresponds to one scanning electrode as-is for an evenfield. Therefore, address data (subfield data) can be generated in theorder of the image signal. However, concerning an odd field, one line ofthe image signal straddles two scanning electrodes. Therefore, addressdata corresponding to one scanning electrode are generated in accordancewith the data of the image signal that is shifted in the verticaldirection by a line depending on which the horizontal position is evenor odd. The image data S_(n,m) of the cell corresponding to the n-thscanning electrode for a cell having the red or blue light emissioncolor are defined by the following equations. (Image 3) S_(n,m) =T_(2n,m) (for an even field) (5) S_(n,2m) = T_(2n−1,2m) {close oversizebrace} (for an odd field) (6) S_(n,2m+1) = T_(2n+1,2m+1)

[0054] The image data S_(n,m) of the cell corresponding to the n-thscanning electrode for a cell having the green light emission color aredefined by the following equations. (Image 4) S_(n,m) = T_(2n,m) (for aneven field) (7) S_(n,2m) = T_(2n+1,2m) {close oversize brace} (for anodd field) (8) S_(n,2m+1) = T_(2n−1,2m+1)

EXAMPLE 2

[0055] Utilizing the present invention, an interlaced image informationdisplay having display lines whose number is twice the number ofscanning electrodes can be performed. It is not necessary that thenumber of display lines of the image information is equal to the numberof scanning electrodes. An appropriate format conversion enables anon-interlace (progressive) image information display having displaylines more than scanning electrodes. Next, an example of the conversionfrom non-interlaced image information to interlaced image information.

[0056] P_(n,m) denotes non-interlaced image information. V_(p) denotes avertical pitch of the image information, and Hp denotes a horizontalpitch. In addition, V_(d) denotes one-half of a scanning electrode pitchof the PDP 1, and H_(d) denotes a horizontal pitch.

[0057] If the image information is an analog signal, the imageinformation can be obtained with any pitch in the horizontal direction.The following explanation is about the case where the position of theimage information in the horizontal direction is defined in a digitalsignal. In the explanation of the conversion rule, indexes of pixelsstart from zero both in the vertical direction and in the horizontaldirection. An edge of the pixel having the index of zero is assigned tothe origin of coordinates.

[0058] A conversion in the horizontal direction is considered. The m-thpixel occupies the space position from mH_(d) to (m+1)H_(d) on thedisplay surface. The value of display is an average value of pixels ofthe image information within the above-mentioned range. Concerning apixel whose pixel area is not completely in the range, the value iscalculated by prorating. P′_(n,m) denotes image information afterconverting the format only in the horizontal direction. The conversionrule is as following equation. $\begin{matrix}\left( {{Image}\quad 5} \right) & \quad \\{P_{n,m}^{\prime} = {\frac{1}{\xi_{H}}\left\{ {{P_{n,\alpha}\left( {\alpha - {\xi_{H}m}} \right)} + {P_{n,\beta}\left( {{\xi_{H}\left( {m + 1} \right)} - \beta} \right)} + {\sum\limits_{k = \alpha}^{\beta - 1}P_{n,k}}} \right\}}} & (9)\end{matrix}$

[0059] where $\begin{matrix}\left. \begin{matrix}{\xi_{H} = \frac{H_{d}}{H_{p}}} \\{\alpha = \left\lbrack {\xi_{H}m} \right\rbrack} \\{\beta = \left\lbrack {\xi_{H}\left( {m + 1} \right)} \right\rbrack}\end{matrix} \right\} & (10)\end{matrix}$

[0060] The expression [x] in the equation (10) represents the maximuminteger less than or equal to x. The sum (sigma) in the equation (9) iszero when β−1<α.

[0061] The format conversion in the vertical direction is performed inthe same way according to the following equations.

[0062] (Image 6) $\begin{matrix}{T_{n,m} = {\frac{1}{\xi_{V}}\left\{ {{P_{\gamma,m}^{\prime}\left( {\gamma - {\xi_{V}n}} \right)} + {P_{\delta,m}^{\prime}\left( {{\xi_{V}\left( {n + 1} \right)} - \delta} \right)} + {\sum\limits_{k = \gamma}^{\delta - 1}P_{k,m}^{\prime}}} \right\}}} & (11)\end{matrix}$

[0063] where $\begin{matrix}\left. \begin{matrix}{\xi_{V} = \frac{V_{d}}{V_{p}}} \\{\gamma = \left\lbrack {\xi_{V}n} \right\rbrack} \\{\delta = \left\lbrack {\xi_{V}\left( {n + 1} \right)} \right\rbrack}\end{matrix} \right\} & (12)\end{matrix}$

[0064] The sum (sigma) in the equation (11) is zero when δ−1<γ.

[0065] Using the image information T_(n,m) derived by the equation (11),the interlaced display is performed in accordance with the equations(1)-(4).

[0066] The data conversion means are not limited to means that generatethe data C_(n,m) of the cell directly from the input image data P_(n,m).Means for generating the interlaced signal T_(n,m) from the image dataP_(n,m) can be separated from means for generating the data C_(n,m) fromthe interlaced signal. Such a separation facilitates support of varioussignals only by changing the means for generating the interlaced signal.

EXAMPLE 3

[0067] In Example 2, the method of converting an image signal defined inthe general equation into an interlaced signal is explained. Theconversion of a signal is usually performed between the formats in whichthe pixel pitches are defined by a simple integer ratio. In Example 3, aconversion rule in the case where the pixel pitches are defined by aninteger ratio will be explained.

[0068] The following relationship is assumed.

[0069] (Image 7)

_(χHp)H_(p)=_(χHd)H_(d)

_(χVp)V_(p)=_(χVd)V_(d)   (13)

[0070] (where, _(χ)HP, _(χ)Hd, _(χ)Vp and _(χ)Vd are integers.)

[0071] The position relationships of pixels of two formats are identicalin the period of _(χHp)V_(p) for the horizontal direction and areidentical in the period of _(χVp)V_(p) for the vertical direction.Therefore, the conversion rule should be considered within theseperiods.

[0072] There are two cases concerning the period boundary. Type A is thecase where the period boundary is at the edge of the cell as shown inFIG. 8A, while Type B is the case where the period boundary is at thecenter of the cell as shown in FIG. 8B. Therefore, four combinations ofconversion rules are considered. However, the edges of the image areasof two formats are not completely identical except for the conversionfrom Type A into Type A. Therefore, a special process is necessary atthe edge portion for the conversion, resulting in an excess job.Accordingly, the conversion from Type A to Type A is practical. Theconversion rule in this case is the same as in Example 2.

[0073] The practical conversion that is the most important at thepresent time is the conversion from a 1280×720 non-interlaced signalthat is a standard of a digital TV into a 1920×1080 interlaced signal.The pixel pitch is three to two. The concrete conversion rule is definedby the following equation.

[0074] (Image 8) $\begin{matrix}\left. \begin{matrix}{P_{n,{3m}}^{\prime} = P_{n,{2m}}} \\{P_{n,{{3m} + 1}}^{\prime} = {{\frac{1}{2}P_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{1}{2}P_{n,{{2m} + 1}}}}} \\{P_{n,{{3m} + 2}}^{\prime} = P_{n,{{2m} + 1}}}\end{matrix} \right\} & (14) \\\left. \begin{matrix}{T_{{3n},m} = P_{{2n},m}^{\prime}} \\{T_{{{3n} + 1},m} = {{\frac{1}{2}P_{{2n},m}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{2}P_{{{2n} + 1},m}^{\prime}}}} \\{T_{{{3n} + 2},m} = P_{{{2n} + 1},m}^{\prime}}\end{matrix} \right\} & (15)\end{matrix}$

[0075] Therefore, 540 of scanning electrodes enable displaying aninterlaced image having 1080 lines and a non-interlaced image having 720lines.

EXAMPLE 4

[0076] When displaying a non-interlaced image having display lines whosenumber is the same as the number of scanning electrodes, unevenness ofthe display lines that is unique to the delta arrangement becomesconspicuous if the combination of cells of the display line is fixed. Inorder to avoid this problem, the non-interlaced image is converted intoan interlaced image having the number of lines twice the number ofscanning electrodes, so as to perform the interlaced display.

[0077] P_(n,m) denotes the image information of the non-interlace. Thepitch of the vertical direction is the same as the pitch of the scanningelectrodes. The image information is converted into the interlaced imageinformation T_(n,m) in which the number of lines is doubled.

[0078] (Image 9) $\begin{matrix}\left. \begin{matrix}{T_{{2n},m} = P_{n,m}} \\{T_{{{2n} + 1},m} = P_{n,m}}\end{matrix} \right\} & (16)\end{matrix}$

[0079] In this case, the following equations are satisfied in all cellswithout depending on the light emission color red, green or blue.

[0080] (Image 10) $\begin{matrix}{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},m} = P_{n,m}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},m} = P_{n,m}}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {{for}\quad {an}} \right. \\\left. {{even}{\quad \quad}{field}} \right)\end{matrix}} & (17) \\{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},m} = P_{{n - 1},m}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},m} = P_{n,m}}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {{for}\quad {an}} \right. \\\left. {{odd}{\quad \quad}{field}} \right)\end{matrix}} & (18)\end{matrix}$

EXAMPLE 5

[0081] There are some methods for making the unevenness of the displaylines that is unique to the delta arrangement inconspicuous. One of themethods is to distribute the luminance value of the pixel of the imagedata to plural cells considering the cell position of the displaysurface.

[0082] If the number of horizontal lines of the input image (the imagesignal) is the same as the number of the scanning electrodes, theluminance of each cell is determined as follows.

[0083] In the same way as the above-mnentioned examples 1-4, thegradation level of a certain cell is denoted by C_(n,m). The suffix “n”indicates the vertical position, and the suffix “m” indicates thehorizontal position as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The image signalcorresponding to the cell of the noted color is denoted by T_(n,m).

[0084] Referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, the vertical position of thehorizontal line of the image signal is considered as Type A or Type Bfrom the viewpoint of symmetry. In Type A, vertical position is the sameas the cell. In type B, the vertical position is the center positionbetween cells.

[0085] The relationship between the display luminance of the cell andthe image data in Type A is defined by the following equations.

[0086] (Image 11) $\begin{matrix}{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{2m}} = T_{n,{2m}}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}} = {{\frac{1}{2}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{1}{2}T_{{n + 1},{{2m} + 1}}}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \quad \begin{matrix}\left( {{red}\quad {and}} \right. \\\left. {{blue}\quad {cells}} \right)\end{matrix}} & (19) \\{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}} = T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}} = {{\frac{1}{2}T_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{1}{2}T_{{n + 1},{2m}}}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \quad \begin{matrix}\left( {green} \right. \\\left. \quad {cell} \right)\end{matrix}} & (20)\end{matrix}$

[0087] The relationship between the display luminance of the cell andthe image data in Type B is defined by the following equations.

[0088] (Image 12) $\begin{matrix}{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{2m}} = {{\frac{1}{4}T_{{n - 1},{2m}}} + {\frac{3}{4}T_{n,{2m}}}}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}} = {{\frac{3}{4}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{1}{4}T_{{n + 1},{{2m} + 1}}}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \quad \begin{matrix}\left( {{red}\quad {and}} \right. \\\left. {{blue}\quad {cells}} \right)\end{matrix}} & (21) \\{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}} = {{\frac{1}{4}T_{{n - 1},{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{3}{4}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}}}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}} = {{\frac{3}{4}T_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{1}{4}T_{{n + 1},{2m}}}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \quad \begin{matrix}\left( {green} \right. \\\left. \quad {cell} \right)\end{matrix}} & (22)\end{matrix}$

[0089] When the vertical positions of the cells that can be designatedby the n-th scanning electrode are denoted by 2n and 2n+1, therelationship between the image data S_(n,m) of the cell and thegradation level C_(n,m) corresponding to the scanning electrode isdefined by the following equations.

[0090] (Image 13) $\begin{matrix}{\left. \begin{matrix}{S_{n,{2m}} = C_{{2n},{2m}}} \\{S_{n,{{2m} + 1}} = C_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {{red}\quad {and}} \right. \\\left. {{blue}\quad {cells}} \right)\end{matrix}} & (23) \\{\left. \begin{matrix}{S_{n,{2m}} = C_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}}} \\{S_{n,{{2m} + 1}} = C_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {green} \right. \\\left. {cell} \right)\end{matrix}} & (24)\end{matrix}$

[0091] By performing the display in accordance with the above-mentionedrelationships, the display that is faithful to the position informationof the image data can be realized, so that the display quality of thehorizontal line can be improved.

EXAMPLE 6

[0092] In the above-mentioned Example 5, the vertical position of thehorizontal line of the input image can be shifted by a half pitch of thescanning electrode pitch. Application of this method to Type A is shownin FIG. 9. The relationship between the image signal and the displayluminance of the cell when the vertical position is shifted is definedby the following equations.

[0093] In the case of Type A, the following equations are derived.

[0094] (Image 14) $\begin{matrix}{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{2m}} = {{\frac{1}{2}T_{{n - 1},{2m}}} + {\frac{1}{2}T_{n,{2m}}}}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}} = T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \quad \begin{matrix}\left( {{red}\quad {and}} \right. \\\left. {{blue}\quad {cells}} \right)\end{matrix}} & (25) \\{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}} = {{\frac{1}{2}T_{{n - 1},{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{1}{2}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}}}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}} = T_{n,{2m}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \quad \begin{matrix}\left( {green} \right. \\\left. \quad {cell} \right)\end{matrix}} & (26)\end{matrix}$

[0095] In the case of Type B, the following equations are derived.

[0096] (Image 15) $\begin{matrix}{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{2m}} = {{\frac{3}{4}T_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{1}{4}T_{{n + 1},{2m}}}}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}} = T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \quad \begin{matrix}\left( {{red}\quad {and}} \right. \\\left. {{blue}\quad {cells}} \right)\end{matrix}} & (27) \\{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}} = {{\frac{3}{4}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{1}{4}T_{{n + 1},{{2m} + 1}}}}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}} = {{\frac{1}{4}T_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{3}{4}T_{{n + 1},{2m}}}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \quad \begin{matrix}\left( {green} \right. \\\left. \quad {cell} \right)\end{matrix}} & (28)\end{matrix}$

[0097] The image displayed by the relationship of equations (19)-(22) isshifted from the image displayed by the relationship of equations(25)-(28) by half a scanning electrode pitch. Therefore, two kinds ofrelationships are assigned to odd fields and even fields, so that aninterlaced display of the image information having horizontal linestwice the number of the scanning electrode.

[0098] T_(n,m) denotes information of an interlaced image. T′_(2n,m)denotes information of an even field, and T′_(2n,m) denotes informationof an odd field. The relationship between the image signal and thedisplay luminance of a cell is defined by the following equations.

[0099] The relationship in the even field of Type A is defined by thefollowing equations.

[0100] (Image 16) $\begin{matrix}{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{2m}} = T_{{2n},{2m}}^{\prime}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}} = {{\frac{1}{2}T_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{2}T_{{{2n} + 2},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {{red}\quad {and}} \right. \\\left. {{blue}\quad {cells}} \right)\end{matrix}} & (29) \\{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}} = T_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}} = {{\frac{1}{2}T_{{2n},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{2}T_{{{2n} + 2},{2m}}^{\prime}}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {green} \right. \\\left. \quad {cell} \right)\end{matrix}} & (30)\end{matrix}$

[0101] The relationship in the odd field of Type A is defined by thefollowing equations.

[0102] (Image 17) $\begin{matrix}{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{2m}} = {{\frac{1}{2}T_{{{2n} - 1},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{2}T_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}}^{\prime}}}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}} = T_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}}\end{matrix} \right\} \quad \begin{matrix}\left( {{red}\quad {and}} \right. \\\left. {{blue}\quad {cells}} \right)\end{matrix}} & (31) \\{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}} = {{\frac{1}{2}T_{{{2n} - 1},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{2}T_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}}}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}} = T_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}}^{\prime}}\end{matrix} \right\} \quad \begin{matrix}\left( {green} \right. \\\left. \quad {cell} \right)\end{matrix}} & (32)\end{matrix}$

[0103] The relationship in the even field of Type B is defined by thefollowing equations.

[0104] (Image 18) $\begin{matrix}{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{2m}} = {{\frac{1}{4}T_{{{2n} - 2},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{3}{4}T_{{2n},{2m}}^{\prime}}}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}} = {{\frac{3}{4}T_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{4}T_{{{2n} + 2},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \quad \begin{matrix}\left( {{red}\quad {and}} \right. \\\left. {{blue}\quad {cells}} \right)\end{matrix}} & (33) \\{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}} = {{\frac{1}{4}T_{{{2n} - 2},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{3}{4}T_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}}}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}} = {{\frac{3}{4}T_{{2n},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{4}T_{{{2n} + 2},{2m}}^{\prime}}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \quad \begin{matrix}\left( {green} \right. \\\left. \quad {cell} \right)\end{matrix}} & (34)\end{matrix}$

[0105] The relationship in the odd field of Type B is defined by thefollowing equations.

[0106] (Image 19) $\begin{matrix}{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{2m}} = {{\frac{3}{4}T_{{{2n} - 1},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{4}T_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}}^{\prime}}}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}} = {{\frac{1}{4}T_{{{2n} - 1},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{3}{4}T_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \quad \begin{matrix}\left( {{red}\quad {and}} \right. \\\left. {{blue}\quad {cells}} \right)\end{matrix}} & (35) \\{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}} = {{\frac{3}{4}T_{{{2n} - 1},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{3}{4}T_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}}}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}} = {{\frac{1}{4}T_{{{2n} - 1},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{3}{4}T_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}}^{\prime}}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \quad \begin{matrix}\left( {green} \right. \\\left. \quad {cell} \right)\end{matrix}} & (36)\end{matrix}$

EXAMPLE 7

[0107] Although the distribution of the pixel information is performedonly in the vertical direction in Examples 5 and 6, it is desirable toperform the distribution also in the horizontal direction for moreaccuracy.

[0108]FIG. 10 shows a unit display area of a certain color and thedisplay center thereof. The display center indicated by a dot in FIG. 10is the cell center. The unit display area means an image area to bedisplayed by the cell. More specifically, the area is divided so that acertain position on the image is included in the unit display area towhich the closest display center belongs. A hexagonal area surroundingthe display center in FIG. 10 is the unit display area. The border linepasses the center of the line that connects display centers facing eachother with respect to the border line and is perpendicular to the line.

[0109] The relationship between the information center and the unitinformation area is shown in FIG. 11. Herein, the “unit informationarea” means the area where the image is expressed with discrete imageinformation. The area is usually divided with rectangles. Theinformation center signifies a position of the discrete information. Theinformation in a unit area of the image is assigned to the center of theinformation.

[0110] The individual image information unit represents imageinformation of the unit information area. Therefore, the distribution ofthe information should be performed in accordance with the area ratiowhere the individual unit display area is overlaid on the noted unitinformation area.

[0111] The type of overlay of the unit information area with the unitdisplay area in Type A is shown in FIG. 12A, and that in Type B is shownin FIG. 12B. Solid lines indicate boundaries between unit display areas,and broken lines indicate boundaries between unit information areas.

[0112] When displaying image information having horizontal lines whosenumber is the same as the number of scanning electrodes, therelationship between the display luminance of the cell and the imagedata is defined by the following equations.

[0113] The relationship in Type A is defined by the following equations.

[0114] (Image 20) $\begin{matrix}{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}} = {{\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{{2m} - 1}}} + {\frac{15}{16}T_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}}}} \\\begin{matrix}{C_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}} = \quad {{\frac{1}{64}T_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{15}{32}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{1}{64}T_{n,{{2m} + 2}}} +}} \\{\quad {{\frac{1}{64}T_{{n + 1},{2m}}} + {\frac{15}{32}T_{{n + 1},{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{1}{64}T_{{n + 1},{{2m} + 2}}}}}\end{matrix}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {{red}\quad {and}} \right. \\\left. {{blue}\quad {cells}} \right)\end{matrix}} & (37) \\{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}} = {{\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{15}{16}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{{2m} + 2}}}}} \\\begin{matrix}{C_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}} = \quad {{\frac{1}{64}T_{n,{{2m} - 1}}} + {\frac{15}{32}T_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{1}{64}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}} +}} \\{\quad {{\frac{1}{64}T_{{n + 1},{{2m} - 1}}} + {\frac{15}{32}T_{{n + 1},{2m}}} + {\frac{1}{64}T_{{n + 1},{{2m} + 1}}}}}\end{matrix}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {green} \right. \\\left. \quad {cell} \right)\end{matrix}} & (38)\end{matrix}$

[0115] The relationship in Type A including a shift of a half pitch isdefined by the following equations.

[0116] (Image 21) $\begin{matrix}{\left. \begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{2m}} = \quad {{\frac{1}{64}T_{{n - 1},{{1m} - 1}}} + {\frac{15}{32}T_{{n - 1},{2m}}} + {\frac{1}{64}T_{{n - 1},{{2m} + 1}}} +}} \\{\quad {{\frac{1}{64}T_{n,{{2m} - 1}}} + {\frac{15}{32}T_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{1}{64}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}}}}\end{matrix} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}} = {{\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{15}{16}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{{2m} + 2}}}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {{red}\quad {and}} \right. \\\left. {{blue}\quad {cells}} \right)\end{matrix}} & (39) \\{\left. \begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}} = \quad {{\frac{1}{64}T_{{n - 1},{2m}}} + {\frac{15}{32}T_{{n - 1},{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{1}{64}T_{{n - 1},{{2m} + 2}}} +}} \\{\quad {{\frac{1}{64}T_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{15}{32}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{1}{64}T_{n,{{2m} + 2}}}}}\end{matrix} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}} = {{\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{{2m} - 1}}} + {\frac{15}{16}T_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {green} \right. \\\left. \quad {cell} \right)\end{matrix}} & (40)\end{matrix}$

[0117] The relationship in Type B is defined by the following equations.

[0118] (Image 22) $\begin{matrix}{\left. \begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{2m}} = \quad {{\frac{7}{32}T_{{n - 1},{2m}}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{{2m} - 1}}} + {\frac{23}{32}T_{n,{2m}}} +}} \\{\quad {\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}}}\end{matrix} \\\begin{matrix}{C_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}} = \quad {{\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{23}{32}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{{2m} + 2}}} +}} \\{\quad {\frac{7}{32}T_{{n + 1},{{2m} + 1}}}}\end{matrix}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {{red}\quad {and}} \right. \\\left. {{blue}\quad {cells}} \right)\end{matrix}} & (41) \\{\left. \begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}} = \quad {{\frac{7}{32}T_{{n - 1},{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{23}{32}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}} +}} \\{\quad {\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{{2m} + 2}}}}\end{matrix} \\\begin{matrix}{C_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}} = \quad {{\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{{2m} - 1}}} + {\frac{23}{32}T_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}} +}} \\{\quad {\frac{7}{32}T_{{n + 1},{2m}}}}\end{matrix}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {green} \right. \\\left. \quad {cell} \right)\end{matrix}} & (42)\end{matrix}$

[0119] The relationship in Type B including a shift of a half pitch isdefined by the following equations.

[0120] (Image 23) $\begin{matrix}{\left. \begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{2m}} = \quad {{\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{{2m} - 1}}} + {\frac{23}{32}T_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}} +}} \\{\quad {\frac{7}{32}T_{{n + 1},{2m}}}}\end{matrix} \\\begin{matrix}{C_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}} = \quad {{\frac{7}{32}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{{n + 1},{2m}}} + {\frac{23}{32}T_{{n + 1},{{2m} + 1}}} +}} \\{\quad {\frac{1}{32}T_{{n + 1},{{2m} + 2}}}}\end{matrix}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {{red}\quad {and}} \right. \\\left. {{blue}\quad {cells}} \right)\end{matrix}} & (43) \\{\left. \begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}} = \quad {{\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{23}{32}T_{n,{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{n,{{2m} + 2}}} +}} \\{\quad {\frac{7}{32}T_{{n + 1},{{2m} + 1}}}}\end{matrix} \\\begin{matrix}{C_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}} = \quad {{\frac{7}{32}T_{n,{2m}}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{{n + 1},{{2m} - 1}}} + {\frac{23}{32}T_{{n + 1},{2m}}} +}} \\{\quad {\frac{1}{32}T_{{n + 1},{{2m} + 1}}}}\end{matrix}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {green} \right. \\\left. \quad {cell} \right)\end{matrix}} & (44)\end{matrix}$

[0121] Next, the relationship between the display luminance of a celland image data will be shown when the interlaced display of imageinformation having horizontal lines whose number is twice the number ofscanning electrodes is performed. The relationship of an even field inType A is defined by the following equations.

[0122] (Image 24) $\begin{matrix}{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{2m}} = \quad {{\frac{1}{32}T_{{2n},{{2m} - 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{15}{16}T_{{2n},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}}}} \\\begin{matrix}{C_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}} = \quad {{\frac{1}{64}T_{{2n},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{15}{32}T_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{64}T_{{2n},{{2m} + 2}}^{\prime}} +}} \\{\quad {{\frac{1}{64}T_{{{2n} + 2},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{15}{32}T_{{{2n} + 2},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{64}T_{{{2n} + 2},{{2m} + 2}}^{\prime}}}}\end{matrix}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {{red}\quad {and}} \right. \\\left. {{blue}\quad {cells}} \right)\end{matrix}} & (45) \\{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}} = \quad {{\frac{1}{32}T_{{2n},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{15}{16}T_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{{2n},{{2m} + 2}}^{\prime}}}} \\\begin{matrix}{C_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}} = \quad {{\frac{1}{64}T_{{2n},{{2m} - 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{15}{32}T_{{2n},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{64}T_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} +}} \\{\quad {{\frac{1}{64}T_{{{2n} + 2},{{2m} - 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{15}{32}T_{{{2n} + 2},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{64}T_{{{2n} + 2},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}}}}\end{matrix}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {green} \right. \\\left. \quad {cell} \right)\end{matrix}} & (46)\end{matrix}$

[0123] The relationship of an odd field in Type A is defined by thefollowing equations.

[0124] (Image 25) $\begin{matrix}{\left. \begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{2m}} = \quad {{\frac{1}{64}T_{{{2n} - 1},{{2m} - 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{15}{32}T_{{{2n} - 1},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{64}T_{{{2n} - 1},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} +}} \\{\quad {{\frac{1}{64}T_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} - 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{15}{32}T_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{64}T_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}}}}\end{matrix} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}} = \quad {{\frac{1}{32}T_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{15}{16}T_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 2}}^{\prime}}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {{red}\quad {and}} \right. \\\left. {{blue}\quad {cells}} \right)\end{matrix}} & (47) \\{\left. \begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}} = \quad {{\frac{1}{64}T_{{{2n} - 1},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{15}{32}T_{{{2n} - 1},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{64}T_{{{2n} - 1},{{2m} + 2}}^{\prime}} +}} \\{\quad {{\frac{1}{64}T_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{15}{32}T_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{64}T_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 2}}^{\prime}}}}\end{matrix} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}} = \quad {{\frac{1}{32}T_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} - 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{15}{16}T_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {green} \right. \\\left. \quad {cell} \right)\end{matrix}} & (48)\end{matrix}$

[0125] The relationship of an even field in Type B is defined by thefollowing equations.

[0126] (Image 26) $\begin{matrix}{\left. \begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{2m}} = \quad {{\frac{7}{32}T_{{{2n} - 2},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{{2n},{{2m} - 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{23}{32}T_{{2n},{2m}}^{\prime}} +}} \\{\quad {\frac{1}{32}T_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}}}\end{matrix} \\\begin{matrix}{C_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}} = \quad {{\frac{1}{32}T_{{2n},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{23}{32}T_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{{2n},{{2m} + 2}}^{\prime}} +}} \\{\quad {\frac{7}{32}T_{{{2n} + 2},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}}}\end{matrix}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {{red}\quad {and}} \right. \\\left. {{blue}\quad {cells}} \right)\end{matrix}} & (49) \\{\left. \begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}} = \quad {{\frac{7}{32}T_{{{2n} - 2},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{{2n},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{23}{32}T_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} +}} \\{\quad {\frac{1}{32}T_{{2n},{{2m} + 2}}^{\prime}}}\end{matrix} \\\begin{matrix}{C_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}} = \quad {{\frac{1}{32}T_{{2n},{{2m} - 1}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{23}{32}T_{{2n},{2m}}^{\prime}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}}^{\prime}} +}} \\{\quad {\frac{7}{32}T_{{{2n} + 2},{2m}}^{\prime}}}\end{matrix}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {green} \right. \\\left. \quad {cell} \right)\end{matrix}} & (50)\end{matrix}$

[0127] The relationship of an odd field in Type B is defined by thefollowing equations.

[0128] (Image 27) $\begin{matrix}{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{2m}} = {{\frac{1}{32}T_{{{2n} - 1},{{2m} - 1}}} + {\frac{23}{32}T_{{{2n} - 1},{2m}}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{{{2n} - 1},{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{7}{32}T_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}}}}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}} = {{\frac{7}{32}T_{{{2n} - 1},{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}}} + {\frac{23}{32}T_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 2}}}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {red} \right. \\{{and}\quad {blue}} \\\left. {cells} \right)\end{matrix}} & (51) \\{\left. \begin{matrix}{C_{{2n},{{2m} + 1}} = {{\frac{1}{32}T_{{{2n} - 1},{2m}}} + {\frac{23}{32}T_{{{2n} - 1},{{2m} + 1}}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{{{2n} - 1},{{2m} + 2}}} + {\frac{7}{32}T_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}}}}} \\{C_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}} = {{\frac{7}{32}T_{{{2n} - 1},{2m}}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}}} + {\frac{23}{32}T_{{{2n} + 1},{2m}}} + {\frac{1}{32}T_{{{2n} + 1},{{2m} + 1}}}}}\end{matrix} \right\} \begin{matrix}\left( {green} \right. \\\left. {cell} \right)\end{matrix}} & (52)\end{matrix}$

[0129] As explained above, an image can be displayed more faithfullyconcerning position information. It is possible to apply the method ofdistributing image information to each cell in accordance with theoverlaying area ratio of the unit information area of each color withthe unit display area to the case where the image information has anypitch in the horizontal direction as well as in the vertical direction.Furthermore, in the case of Example 5 or 6, it can be considered thatthe image information is divided by the overlaying area ratio of theunit information area of each color with the unit display area aftermaking approximation of the unit display area as shown in FIG. 13.

[0130] The present invention can be applied to any display devices otherthan a PDP if the cell arrangement is similar. The display is notlimited to a color display, but can be a monochromatic display using adevice in which all cells emit light of the same color.

[0131] According to the present invention, a high definition display canbe realized in which the display line pitch is smaller than the cellarrangement pitch in the column direction in the display surface havingdisplay lines of cells arranged zigzag.

[0132] In addition, the position information of an image can bereproduced more faithfully.

[0133] Furthermore, a high definition display can be realized that has alarge aperture ratio of a cell, high luminance, low possibility of crosstalk in the column direction and little display fluctuations, and inwhich the display line pitch is smaller than the cell arrangement pitchin the column direction.

[0134] While the presently preferred embodiments of the presentinvention have been shown and described, it will be understood that thepresent invention is not limited thereto, and that various changes andmodifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departingfrom the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of displaying an image, comprising thesteps of: using a display device having a display surface includingplural cell columns each of which is a set of cells having the samelight emission color, the display device having a cell arrangementstructure in which cell positions in the column direction are shiftedfrom each other between the neighboring cell columns; and performing aninterlaced display by changing the combination of cells of a displayline that is perpendicular to the column direction in every fieldbetween the neighboring cell columns of the same light emission color.2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step ofdetermining luminance of each cell of the display surface bydistributing a luminance value of each pixel of an input image to bedisplayed to cells corresponding to pixels in accordance with the cellposition relationship between a virtual display surface having a cellarrangement corresponding to a pixel arrangement of the input image andthe display surface.
 3. A display apparatus comprising: a display devicehaving a display surface including plural cell columns each of which isa set of cells having the same light emission color, the display devicehaving a cell arrangement structure in which cell positions in thecolumn direction are shifted from each other between the neighboringcell columns; and a driving circuit for performing an interlaced displayby changing the combination of cells of a display line that isperpendicular to the column direction in every field between theneighboring cell columns of the same light emission color in everyfield.
 4. The display apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the cellsare arranged at a constant pitch in each cell column and the shiftquantity of the cell position in the column direction between theneighboring cell columns of the same light emission color is a half ofthe cell arrangement pitch.
 5. The display apparatus according to claim3 , wherein luminance of each cell of the display surface is determinedby distributing a luminance value of each pixel of an input image to bedisplayed to cells corresponding to pixels in accordance with the cellposition relationship between a virtual display surface having a cellarrangement corresponding to a pixel arrangement of the input image andthe display surface.
 6. The display apparatus according to claim 3 ,wherein the all cells within the display surface have the same lightemission color.
 7. The display apparatus according to claim 3 , whereinthe display surface includes three kinds of cell columns havingdifferent light emission colors, and the color arrangement has a patternin which three colors are repeated in a constant order.
 8. The displayapparatus according to claim 3 , wherein an interlaced image to bedisplayed is inputted, and the direction of the display line is thedirection of a scanning line of the interlaced image.
 9. The displayapparatus according to claim 3 , wherein a non-interlaced image to bedisplayed is inputted, and the non-interlaced image is converted into aninterlaced image to be displayed.
 10. The display apparatus according toclaim 9 , wherein gradation data of each pixel of the interlaced imageare generated from the non-interlaced image data.
 11. The displayapparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the display device is a plasmadisplay panel.
 12. The display apparatus according to claim 3 , whereinthe display device is a plasma display panel having an inner structureincluding a partition for dividing a discharge space for each cellcolumn, the discharge space is continuous over the entire length of thedisplay surface in each cell column, and wide portions and narrowportions are arranged alternately so that the narrow portion is locatedat the boundary position between cells.
 13. The display apparatusaccording to claim 12 , wherein the display device has a plurality ofscanning electrodes arranged to straddle over all cell columns forselecting one cell in each cell column of each field.